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Dimensional Funnel
"Whoa...Could someone send word to Engineering to have my stomach sent back up to the bridge from the aft compartment?" ~Navigator 2nd Class Fal Grissom, Testing phase project "Digger" --------- Not entirely a "device" by the strictest definition (Such as finding a large circular device buried in the remains of a temple somewhere) the Dimensional Funnel falls under this category due to the way that it operates. Initially discovered as what could only be described as a "setting adjustment" during experiments on a older Dimensional Transit gate the researchers found that when the gate was activated it not only created the dimensional transit vortex, but once the ship was inside, it was hyper-accelerated through what can only be described as a wormhole of folded hyperspace from one gate to exit at another with significantly shortened transit time. The transit along such a corridor seems cut off from normal "Hyperspace" and is seemingly set up to be one way only for travel (Like a kind of mash up of a Dimensional Jump drive merged with the mechanics of an Astria Portia, which could mean the setting pre-dates the current working of the Transit Gates, or could be evidence of the beings who designed the Astria Portia attempting to modify the Gates themselves. As with a lot of the systems on both items, the programming is hardcoded into the design and there is precious little documentation from the period). Not every gate is capable of generating a Dimensional funnel from it's location, especially among the more modern gates (Some believe because many modern gates use a similar, but not nearly as powerful power generation system) however every gate can serve as a receptor for a Dimensional Funnel transit. In fact the current working model only allows for a Dimensional Funnel to exit at a receiving point where there is a currently active Transit Gate. Other recent experiments have shown that ships equipped with a dimensional transit drive can be adapted to set up a Dimensional Funnel (With enough power available and some additional components installed) starting at the point where they enter "Hyperspace" or even recently discovered, when already within hyperspace, however the end point still needs to be for a Transit Gate. -------- What it Does If the Dimensional Transit gate is capable of forming a Dimensional Funnel (See above) with the additional activation protocols sent, then between the first gate and the receiving gate a "tunnel" is formed (similar to a wormhole created by a Astria Portia) through "Hyperspace" where the dimensional space itself is seemingly folded from point to point to create a highly charged pathway for physical matter to travel from point to point. This pathway is closed off from regular Dimensional space interaction, which means a ship already in Dimensional space can't interact or "fall into" such a path by mistake, and the path is only in existence for the time period required for the ship making the transit to enter and exit. The principal is the same whether using a regular Dimensional gate or if a modified transit drive is used. If the Transit drive is activated as such from Realspace, it works the same way as if a Initial gate was used, if the Funnel is activated while already within hyperspace then ships in the relative "area" near the ship activating such will perceive the ship as suddenly accelerating and "phasing" out. inexperienced sensor operators have registered the burst of energy and loss of signal as the ship having been destroyed. Independent of the distance being traveled within the "tunnel" the time in transit usually lasts little more than a standard minute. Which corresponds to a minor tesseract type effect or may simply have to do with the nature of dimensional space. Though even with acceleration compensation and other means, it still seems to affect the inertial velocity of the ship itself (or perhaps just the perceptions of the Crew during transit where they "feel" the acceleration, even if not actually experiencing the effects therein) leading to some pilots who make use of such referring to making use of such as the "organ grinder" or "Puke Chute" depending on their preference and species. Once the transit has been made, whatever forces were used to form the tunnel are released and the entirety of Hyperspace seems little the worse for wear, in fact it's nearly impossible for instruments to register that anything was done at all to begin with. ---------- Additional information For those concerned about sudden space invaders using a Funnel to override the jump gate and appear in system with no warning, it should be noted that the establishment of a tunnel does not override the IFF system for a gate. What this means is that it appears that part of the protocol of the departing ship includes transmission of IFF signals to the receiving gate, and if that gate is not authorized for transit on those signals, the Funnel will not form. Which is why booking transit passage from point to point ahead of time may be to one's benefit. On Receiving gates that have a Funnel forming at their location, other ships seeking transit will receive a wait signal from the gate itself if a funnel is attached to allow the passage of the already at that point inbound vehicle passage first, Likewise if the gate is already in use for passage in or out of the system a Funnel will wait to be formed till the gate is listed as being "Available" due to it's own systems. Since it requires more power to form, a lot of systems that make use of gates that could form a Funnel will set things up in such a way that all activation sequences are transmitted from gate control instead of from the ship itself, which means that they are able to charge more of a premium for the faster transit, and may levy hefty fines against a ship using it's own activation for such. This isn't to say that a ship could not activate a gate with the proper signal, but a lot of times the controllers for that gate will put out a watch or in some cases if the offending ship's account number is on file, have it written into the transit papers they can charge for "additional services" from the account. For those Dimensional transit drives set up to create their own funnels, it should be advised that the system uses multitudes more power than a normal forming of a transit portal. Some ships in poor repair, damaged or even by design may not be able to handle that much power usage. A lot of times captains with this modification to their transit engines keep such in reserve as a emergency escape procedure to a friendly, or un-monitored gate location, or make use of such only in a dire need (medical assistance required, or perishable goods needing to be transported for a profit to outweigh the energy recharge costs). Since the end point has to be at a system with a active gate, it does tend to limit one's possibilities for where they come out. It's theorized that it may be possible to one day form dimensional funnels within "Hyperspace" from point to point without making use of a gate at the endpoint, which would expedite the cause of exploration and commerce, especially among those systems that don't have a gate currently, however to date such experiments haven't been successful. or if there has been a successful use of such, it has not been reported.